Electronic systems are no longer isolated with a vehicle; instead they are distributed with their functionality dependent on multiple electronic control units (ECUs) and sub-systems connected over numerous harnesses and network buses. However, the specification of these distributed systems does not fit well with conventional vehicle design methodologies, which are based on the design self-contained systems. For proper and reliable operation, the interfaces between sub-systems/ECUs must be not only specified at the signal/connectivity level, but also must meet specified performance requirements. This ensures that when the vehicle manufacturer (who typically plays the role of systems integrator) integrates the various components from various suppliers, the vehicle electrical system will perform as expected. Therefore, a key to a successful integration at the vehicle level is to accurately characterize the complete electrical/electronics (E/E) architecture of the vehicle, which comprises: power/ground distribution; electrical connectivity (i.e., wiring); network buses, network topology and messaging strategies; and distribution of system functionality into electronic control units (ECUs) and other devices. Due to the complexity of modern vehicles, vehicle manufactures have evolved from a component/subsystem focus to specifying a performance-driven E/E architecture for the vehicle. However, the designers of an E/E architecture for a vehicle typically are compartmentalized into separate design domains, such as wire harness design, software design, electronic control unit (ECU) design, network bus design, and the like. In most instances, the designers in a given design domain focus on the architecture of that domain with little collaboration or information sharing among the various design domains, resulting in a bottom-up development process that can introduce cost overruns, delay the final development of the E/E architecture, and produce a non-optimal E/E architecture for the vehicle.